German Parliament urges China to safeguard human rights in Tibet

April 29, 2013

April 25, 2013 - Expressing deep concern over the high number of self-immolations in Tibet, the German Parliament’s human rights committee on Wednesday urged the Chinese leadership to safeguard the human rights of Tibetans including their religious and cultural identity.

“The significant rise of self-immolations is an expression of deepest desperation about the lack of freedom, as well as about non-existent freedom of religion and the refusal of the Chinese leadership to respect a unique cultural identity,” the parliamentary committee said in its joint declaration.

The committee urged the new Chinese leadership to open up a new chapter in their relations to the Tibetans, to look into the causes of these desperate acts and to bring about necessary reforms.

It said the Chinese leadership must respect the human rights of the Tibetans and their right to live their own culture and religion. “Hence, we urge the Chinese leadership to end the control of religious life and to stop the repression of the authorities,” it added.

It further called on the Chinese leadership to re-start the stalled dialogue process with the Tibetan leadership to resolve the issue of Tibet.

The committee also appealed to Tibetan religious leaders to consistently urge Tibetans to refrain from setting themselves on fire.

Expressing strong support to the statements made by the international community, including the United Nations and the European Parliament, the German parliamentary committee demanded access for UN diplomats, parliamentarians and journalists into Tibetan areas.

“We ask the Federal Government to continue to work bilaterally and on the international level towards an improvement of the situation in Tibet and while doing so, to also make use of the German Dialogue on Law and the EU-Human Rights Dialogue with China,” it said.